Updated March 14, 2026, 7:32 p.m. ET
The Bassmaster Classic − considered the “Super Bowl of Bass Fishing” − is back in Knoxville for the third time March 13-15, and the stakes couldn’t be higher.
This is the spot to keep up with all the action all weekend long.
Knox News hit the water with professional anglers and celebrity guests, who are among the more than 150,000 people expected to be in town for the event. We’ve also been behind the scenes at takeoffs and weigh-ins, exploring the expo and checking out all the other free festivities happening across town.
Check back regularly for the latest updates, photos and videos from the weekend.
Day 2 of the Bassmaster Classic in Knoxville, Tennessee
Dylan Nutt the leader ahead of Bassmaster Classic ‘Championship Sunday’
The 2026 Bassmaster Classic said goodbye to 33 anglers after the second day of weigh-ins at Food City Center on March 14.
That leaves just 25 anglers to compete in the final day of what’s considered the “Super Bowl of Bass Fishing” on March 15 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Nashville native Dylan Nutt is sitting at the top of the leaderboard.
The 22-year-old angler is one of the youngest in the competition, and this is his first appearance at a Bassmaster Classic. Nutt finished the day with a total catch of 46 pounds, putting him 3 pounds, 15 ounces ahead of second-place Drew Cook.
After finishing the first day with a catch of 19 pounds, 5 ounces, Nutt shot to the top of the leaderboard with a Day 2 catch of 26 pounds, 11 ounces.
– Joanna Hayes
Meet the early leader, 23-year-old Easton Fothergill
Easton Fothergill is atop the leaderboard following March 13 weigh-ins, and he’s no stranger to leading the pack. The 23-year-old professional angler from Minnesota won the “Superbowl of bass fishing” in 2025 as a rookie and walked away with a $300,000 prize.
The winnings account for a hefty portion of the $550,000 in total prize money Fothergill has won across 46 tournaments at various levels of competition. Another Bassmaster Classic win would bring that total to $850,000.
Fothergill won the 2024 Elite Qualifiers Angler of the Year title and has earned five first-place finishes in his Bassmaster career. He finished the first day of the 2026 Bassmaster Classic with a five-fish catch totaling 21 pounds, 8 ounces.
– Joanna Hayes
What is first-place prize, total purse for Bassmaster Classic?
Every competitor in the Bassmaster Classic is guaranteed a cash prize, with the tournament’s purse totaling $850,500. Here’s how it all breaks down:
| 1 | $300,000 | 30 | $3,000 |
| 2 | $50,000 | 31 | $3,000 |
| 3 | $40,000 | 32 | $3,000 |
| 4 | $30,000 | 33 | $3,000 |
| 5 | $25,000 | 34 | $3,000 |
| 6 | $22,000 | 35 | $3,000 |
| 7 | $21,500 | 36 | $3,000 |
| 8 | $21,000 | 37 | $3,000 |
| 9 | $20,500 | 38 | $3,000 |
| 10 | $20,000 | 39 | $3,000 |
| 11 | $15,000 | 40 | $3,000 |
| 12 | $14,000 | 41 | $3,000 |
| 13 | $13,500 | 42 | $3,000 |
| 14 | $13,000 | 43 | $3,000 |
| 15 | $12,500 | 44 | $3,000 |
| 16 | $12,000 | 45 | $3,000 |
| 17 | $12,000 | 46 | $3,000 |
| 18 | $12,000 | 47 | $3,000 |
| 19 | $12,000 | 48 | $3,000 |
| 20 | $12,000 | 49 | $3,000 |
| 21 | $12,000 | 50 | $3,000 |
| 22 | $12,000 | 51 | $3,000 |
| 23 | $12,000 | 52 | $3,000 |
| 24 | $12,000 | 53 | $3,000 |
| 25 | $12,000 | 54 | $3,000 |
| 26 | $3,000 | 55 | $3,000 |
| 27 | $3,000 | 56 | $3,000 |
| 28 | $3,000 | 57 | $3,000 |
| 29 | $3,000 | 58 | $3,000 |
The Bassmaster Classic also has four contingency awards: Big Bag ($7,000), Daily Big Bass ($1,000 per day), Overall Big Bass ($2,500) and BassTrakk ($1,000).
– Ryan Wilusz
When and where are the weigh-ins held?
Once anglers end their day on the water, they head to weigh-ins at Food City Center on the University of Tennessee at Knoxville campus, which has a capacity of 21,678.
Doors open to fans at 3:15 p.m. each day, with the first fish scheduled to be weighed around 4:15 p.m.
Not in Knoxville? The best place to catch weigh-ins is bassmaster.com, where many of the weekend’s big moments will be streamed. The Bassmaster YouTube channel also will maintain multiple streams throughout the weekend.
FS2 will air Bassmaster programing 1-3 p.m. March 15 before FOX wraps up the Bassmaster Classic with highlights and weigh-ins from 3:30 p.m. to 6 :30 p.m. Follow @bass_nation on Instagram for more updates.
– Joanna Hayes
How many anglers go home after March 14 weigh-ins?
Every angler remained in the competition after the first day March 13, and 2025 Bassmaster Classic winner Easton Fothergill sits atop the Day 1 leaderboard with a catch totaling 21 pounds, eight ounces.
The second day’s weigh-ins will cut the field in half, leaving just 29 anglers to compete in the final day of the tournament March 15.
– Joanna Hayes
Anglers to watch: Easton Fothergill and Dylan Nutt
Easton Fothergill won last year’s tournament as a Bassmaster Elite Series rookie and walked away from Day One of this year’s event in the lead with a March 13 catch totaling 21 pounds, 8 ounces.
The 23-year-old from Minnesota is back on the water March 14 looking to keep momentum going toward a second championship.
“I made a couple bad decisions this morning and started in a couple wrong areas, and it would have been so easy to stay down all day long,” Fothergill said at Friday’s weigh-ins. “But you just have to keep fighting. … Hopefully, going forward, we can get a couple more clues and just learn a little bit more each day and hopefully be in contention come Sunday.”
Fellow competitor Dylan Nutt finished Day 1 in fifth place with a catch totaling 19 pounds, 5 ounces. Bassmaster posted a Day 2 highlight of the 22-year-old Tennessean finding “the right bass” which he said had a tentative weigh of 4 pounds, 3 ounces.
The second round of weigh-ins start around 4:15 p.m. March 14 at Food City Center. With more than half of competitors set for elimination following today’s results, fans will have a full picture of where Fothergill, Nutt and others stand heading into the final day of the tournament March 15.
– Ryan Wilusz
Bassmaster Classic leaderboard heading into March 14 weigh-in
Here are the March 13 results from the first day of weigh-ins:
- Easton Fothergill – 21 pounds, 8 ounces
- Fisher Anaya – 20 pounds, 15 ounces
- Patrick Walters – 19 pounds, 10 ounces
- Drew Cook – 19 pounds, 9 ounces
- Dylan Nutt – 19 pounds, 5 ounces
- JT Thompkins – 18 pounds, 15 ounces
- Yui Aoki – 18 pounds, 11 ounces
- Paul Marks – 18 pounds, 10 ounces
- Dakota Ebare – 17 pounds, 3 ounces
- Wesley Gore – 17 pounds
– Ryan Wilusz
Try these Bassmaster beers made locally by Xul
While it’s probably not the case for professional anglers, nothing quite compares to having a rod in one hand and a beer in the other. And Knoxville’s own award-winning Xul Beer Company has two beverages designed to pair with this weekend’s Bassmaster Classic festivities.
Xul is known for its PB&J Mixtape sour, whose uncanny flavor has been described as tasting like an Uncrustables snack. It’s one of those you have to drink to believe, and locals line up around the block at 213 E. Fifth Ave. on the days new batches of cans are released.
But if you’re all in on bass fishing this weekend, the local brewery has teamed up with Bassmaster to create an official American pilsner for the tournament with a 4.8% ABV.
The brewery also has partnered with fishing electronics company Lowrance on the Lowrance Lager, which is slightly lighter at 4.6% and just as “crushable.”
– Ryan Wilusz
Day 1 of the Bassmaster Classic in Knoxville, Tennessee
Fothergill earns Day 1 Bassmaster Classic lead
Weigh-ins kicked off at Food City Center on March 13, giving fans an idea of who’s sitting comfortably and who has the most work to do in order to stay competitive.
The good news is no anglers are eliminated the first day. But more than half of the field will be cut following tomorrow’s weigh ins.
Easton Fothergill has the least to worry about going into Day 2 of the competition March 14. The 23-year-old angler from Minnesota finished Day 1 in the lead with a catch totaling 21 pounds, 8 ounces.
Fothergill won last year’s Bassmaster Classic as a rookie in the Bassmaster Elite Series and is looking for back-to-back titles, which would come with a whopping $300,000 prize.
– Ryan Wilusz
Bassmaster Classic expo takes over convention center
The Knoxville Convention Center has transformed into an outdoor enthusiast’s dream for the weekend. Knox News stopped by the Bassmaster Classic Outdoors Expo to check out all the exhibits and shops, which feature a range of apparel, gear and boats on display and for sale.
Bassmaster Classic fans lined World’s Fair Park for hours waiting to get inside. We watched as one attendee pulled out his phone for a photo of the Sunsphere, built in Knoxville for the 1982 World’s Fair.
“I just had to get a picture of that big, gold ball,” he said.
Inside the expo, fans can grab a sticker and place it on a globe to show where they came from to get to Knoxville. On the first day of the expo, the globe already had stickers on nearly all 50 states, as well as countries including China, Mexico and New Zealand.
The “Super Bowl of Bass Fishing” is expected to draw more than 150,000 people to Knoxville, which is hosting the Bassmaster Classic for the third time March 13-15. The event was held here in 2019 and again in 2023.
− Joanna Hayes
Eary updates before official Bassmaster Classic weigh-in
Only a few hours remain for the first day of competition.
At the time of this update, according to Bassmaster, anglers JT Thompkins, Fisher Anaya and Yui Aoki were sitting in the top three spots on the leaderboard. These preliminary scores are based on the estimated weights of fish reeled in by anglers.
Food City Center opens at 3:15 p.m., and the first fish will be weighed at 4:15 p.m. This will be the first of three weigh-ins happening throughout the weekend.
All competitors will return for a second day on the water. Following March 14 weigh-ins, more than half the anglers will be cut from the competition. Whoever is named the winner March 15 will go home with $300,000.
− Joanna Hayes
How to watch Bassmaster Classic happening in Knoxville
The Bassmaster Classic will air on a variety of platforms at various times throughout the tournament. The best place to start is bassmaster.com, where many of this weekend’s big moments will be streamed. The Bassmaster YouTube channel also will maintain multiple streams throughout the weekend.
FOX will air the Bassmaster Classic from noon to 3 p.m. March 14. FS2 will air Bassmaster programing 1-3 p.m. March 15 before FOX picks up the Bassmaster Classic broadcast from 3:30 p.m. to 6 :30 p.m.
Check out the full TV and streaming schedule at bassmaster.com/how-to-watch.
– Ryan Wilusz
Bassmaster Classic launches from Volunteer Landing
And they’re off! Fifty-eight anglers took off from Volunteer Landing at 7:45 a.m. Friday. They’ll spend all day on the Tennessee River before heading back in for the first day’s weigh-in this afternoon at Food City Center.
The temperature was hovering just around freezing, and each angler was bundled up for the weather. Some even had heated gloves. But no matter the weather, Knoxville is the place to be. Hundreds of fans showed up to the docks this morning to see their favorite anglers start the competition.
Now, we wait. This is the 56th Bassmaster Classic, and the third time its been held in Knoxville.
– Joanna Hayes
Knoxville welcomes Bassmaster fans, celebs March 12
Ross Chastain wins Bassmaster Classic Pro-Am
Covenant Health Parked welcomed fans of fishing inside the home of Knoxville Smokies baseball for a chance to meet the celebrities participating in the Bassmaster Classic Pro-Am Tournament following the on-field weigh-in.
NASCAR Cup Series driver Ross Chastain had a catch totaling 18 pounds, 2 ounces, earning him and David Mullins the wrestling-style championship titles over the other pairs of professional anglers and celebrities, including WWE superstars Bron Breakker and Tony D’Angelo.
– Ryan Wilusz
As we wait for a winner, see celebs take to the lake
The sun came out today, and so did the stars. Knox News hopped aboard a boat on Douglas Lake in Dandridge to follow celebrity competitors as they worked with their professional angler partners to compete in the Bassmaster Classic Pro-Am Tournament.
Below are some of the best Knox News photos from our day on the lake. And keep scrolling for a list of all the celebrities who were scheduled to compete!
Celebs get ready for new roles at Bassmaster Classic
Celebrities showed up in Knoxville to register March 11 for the Bassmaster Classic Pro-Am Tournament, which launched the following morning from Dandridge.
Knox News was invited to capture the fun of the tournament, and we’ll be sharing some highlights shortly.
In the meantime, check out the above photos posted by Bassmaster and decide which celebrity team you’re pulling for:
- Ronnie Adams (with Mike Iaconelli)
- Will Anderson Jr. (with Rick Clunn)
- Chris Bee (with Joey Cifuentes)
- Andrew Bishop (with Garrett Walters)
- Tedy Bruschi (with Randy Howell)
- Ross Chastain (with David Mullins)
- John Crimber (with Blake Capps)
- Casey Currie (with Matt Messer)
- Lavell Crawford (with Robert Gee)
- Tony D’Angelo (with Chris Zaldain)
- Lee Ellis (with Maggie Carsello)
- Matthew Golden (with Sam Hanggi)
- Blake Grupe (with Beau Browning)
- Clay Guida (with Steve Kennedy)
- Levi Kitchen (with Tristan McCormick)
- Brody Malone (with Carl Jocumsen)
- Justin Martin (with Gerald Swindle)
- Tim Montana (with John Garrett)
- Darryl Moore (with Jacob Foutz)
- Randy Moss (with Hunter Shryock)
- King Pedford (with Kyle Patrick)
- Patrick Queen (with Matt Arey)
- Bronson Steiner (with Caleb Sumrall)
- Koe Wetzel (with Tyler Rivet)
– Ryan Wilusz
What happens to bass once they are caught?
This is the third time for the Bassmaster Classic to be held in Knoxville, and we were there in 2019 and 2023 to see what happens behind the scenes.
Anglers used to eat their bass, but fishing these days is much more about respecting and protecting the fish with a network of mesh bags, trap doors and 600-gallon fish trucks.
Watch the video above to learn more about the reason and the methods behind catching and releasing.
– Ryan Wilusz
Waterways cleaned up in preparation for Bassmaster
Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful, a local nonprofit, rallied volunteers March 10 for a trash cleanup effort ahead of the Bassmaster Classic.
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